


Sleepless Submission

by Bam4Me



Series: Restful [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Allison Argent, Alive Claudia Stilinski, Alive Hale Family, Alive Laura Hale, Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Alternate Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - College/University, And moved to a new town, Animal Play, BDSM, Daddy!Boyd, Dom Peter, Domme Braeden, Domme Laura, Everyone Is Alive, Gen, Insomnia, It still happened but they all survived, Little!Erica, Little!Isaac, M/M, Magical Claudia Stilinski, Magical Sheriff Stilinski, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Kink, Non-Sexual Submission, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family, Pet Play, Platonic BDSM, Puppy!malia, Scent Marking, Scenting, Sheriff Stilinski Knows About Werewolves, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Knows About Werewolves, Stiles Stilinski Has ADHD, Stiles Stilinski's Scent, bdsm club, daddy!Peter, little!stiles, non-sexual pet play, switch derek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-06-06 10:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15192695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bam4Me/pseuds/Bam4Me
Summary: Stiles can't sleep. This isn't new. But since it isn't new, the fact that he's branching out to look for help? Means it's getting pretty desperate. Thankfully, people are willing to help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> 1: if there is a buttlickereatinass on tumblr, I'm sorry, but also, not sorry enough to change that line in the fic  
> 2: I have EXTREME insomnia and ADHD to the point where I'm literally not even sociatally functional (cant hold a job to save my life cause I can't function on a proper sleep schedule and shit like that) so like... this is actually 100% accurately written this is how ADHD and insomnia works...  
> 3: Malia isn't Peter's daughter in this, he's her niece, and her dad (Peter and Talia's brother) died before she was born. She spent two years in Beacon Hills when her mom had temp custody of her before college, and that's how Stiles and her know each other. They don't HATE each other Malia just doesn't really see her as her mom.
> 
> gayerthancanon.tumblr.com

Stiles was spastic, he was hyperactive and couldn’t keep himself on track, he had insomnia and drank about three to seven mugs of coffee a day on top of his Adderall just to calm down and focus on things. Hell, last week he had to drink an entire pot of coffee just to get to sleep, and his roommate had given him a look like he was murdering a kitten right in front of him.

 

Stiles’s roommate was a weakling.

 

But still, he was jumpy and couldn’t focus on anything to save his damn life, and he needed some type of control.

 

Of course, this meant he went online to look for solutions that didn’t involve more coffee, because as much as he loved it, he was peeing far too often and when he wakes up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, nine times out of ten he didn’t go back to bed for at least another hour, and that was only when he forced himself to lie there until his eyes could close again.

 

The internet… wasn’t helpful.

 

You know who _was_ helpful though? A lovely tumblr user named **buttlickereatinass** who suggested he try BDSM as a form of control, whether it be letting go of control and trusting a Dom to take care of him, or to take control of a sub.

 

Stiles was self aware enough to know that he was firmly in the sub category, and also, doesn’t BDSM hurt?

 

“Hey, Malia, wake up.”

 

He nudged the girl’s side, looking over at the other side of the room where his roommate was suspiciously absent. Him and Malia should get an apartment together. He was in sophomore year, they were allowed to live off campus. Malia spent more nights in his bed than she did her own room. They should just get their own apartment.

 

But, apartments cost money...

 

Malia let out a grumpy little sigh, arms tightening around Stiles’s waist, before letting out a growl when he just kept nudging her. “Please, Malia, wake up, this is important.”

 

If he can’t sleep why should he let her? Well, normally he was a much more considerate person, and Malia was arguably his soulmate, the only person closer to him than Scott, but listen, this is his third night without more than a couple hours of sleep to keep him going, and he was desperate and a little grumpy right now. He didn’t see why she got to sleep so well. Must be a werecoyote thing.

 

“What?” She didn’t open her eyes, but her words came out in a warning tone, about halfway ready to drop fang and make him go to sleep herself if she had to. It’s what she liked about Stiles, he always got all stupid and submissive when she told him what to do.

 

If she was into subs, or guys, she’d have been all over that. Actually, for about a month in high school, she _was_ all over that. But he’s like her brother. Her weird twin brother who she occasionally makes out with when they’re drunk.

 

She should rethink the relationship with her actual family if this is the first thing she thinks about after she wakes up.

 

He didn’t answer for a long moment and she opened her eyes to look at him, squinting though she didn’t have to, she could see in the dark, she just needed to make sure he knew she didn’t appreciate being woken up this early. He had a funny look on his face. “What, did you eat something bad? You look like shit.”

 

Stiles’s face crumpled, and he let out a little whimper, making her sit up instantly, worried about him. She might have been a grump when she woke up on a regular basis, but if her packmate was _hurt_ , she needed to help him. “Stiles, what’s wrong?”

 

Stiles shook his head, feeling weak, out of control, a little bit desperate. He knew he could probably piss her off, get her to pin him down and just hold him there till he fell asleep in her arms, but everything felt big, like it was too much, he could barely keep his eyes open, and yet he knew he wasn’t getting to sleep anytime soon.

 

“Is BDSM painful?”

 

Malia looked at him in confusion for a good twenty seconds, listening to his painful little ragged breaths. “What?”

 

Stiles swallowed, shrugging his shoulders. “Does BDSM hurt? It’s about hitting people, right? I tried looking it up but all I got were pictures of whipping, so I tried to narrow the search to be… _not_ mean? And all I got after that was sex. I don’t… Malia, I don’t want pain.”

 

He was nearly crying, little hitches in his breathing, shoulders slumped as if in defeat, but really just exhaustion.

 

Malia looked over to the clock on the wall. It was too dark for Stiles to see it, but it was barely nine. She had dragged Stiles to bed early around six in hopes of him getting some sleep. Stiles was beyond tired at this point, he couldn’t do homework, and so she had firmly told him no when he’d tried to go to the library instead.

 

It was a Wednesday, they had class tomorrow. She could miss a few classes without failing, and Stiles wasn’t going to be any help to himself unless he got some fucking sleep. But thankfully, on a Wednesday night, The Rope Lounge would have pleasantly few patrons.

 

She thought about just drugging him. But… that solution would only last for a few days at most. Likely, he’d get a good fourteen hours of sleep on his favorite heavy duty sleeping pill tonight, but as soon as tomorrow hit he’d be right back at the insomnia and starting all over again.

 

No, she needed a solution, not duct tape. “No, BDSM doesn’t have to be painful _or_ sexual. Get dressed.” She looked down to see he was wearing Batman pajama pants and a tee shirt. “Actually no, what you’re wearing is fine. Get some shoes on and grab a sweater. I’ll call Laura to come pick us up.”

 

Stiles nodded and got all the way to the dresser before he registered much. “Why is your cousin coming?”

 

Malia grabbed her own shoes off the floor, pulling them back on while she texted Laura. “Uncle Peter owns a non-sexual BDSM club. I _assume_ that’s why you asked me. We’ll go there.”

 

Stiles nodded, robotically pulling out a pair of socks and sitting down at the little desk so he could pull them on and then his shoes. It felt like he was looking at everything through a filter right now. “I didn’t know BDSM could _be_ non-sexual. I don’t wanna have sex to sleep.”

 

Contrary to popular belief, he’s not actually obsessed with sex, a belief that’s facilitated by the fact that he usually masterbates once a day and were’s can smell it, so Malia, who is a _born_ were, seems to be the only creature he knows that actually believes him when he says he’s only even wanted it a few times.

 

Malia was perfect and amazing and beautiful and his soulmate and always loving and helping him, and he wished a little bit that he liked girls so he could just get married to her, but he isn’t attracted to girls, and she’s _only_ attracted to girls, so the single month they were together in high school was confusing and weird and ended in the best friendship other than Scott he’s had in his whole life, and he is _so_ tired right now he has no idea where this is going.

 

“BDSM can be whatever you want it to be, Stiles. It isn’t about _pain_ , that’s just the S and M part of it, it’s about giving up control or taking charge of someone else.”

 

Stiles let out a little sigh, stuffing his shoe laces in his shoes without tying them, and letting his head roll back to hang between his shoulder blades. “I don’t feel very in control right now.”

 

“I can tell. If you aren’t going to get any sleep anytime soon, then we might as well go. Worst happens, I’m sure someone _else_ can find a way to get you to sleep. I’m out of ideas if you don’t wanna take the pills.”

 

Stiles made a sad little noise and she curled up in place on the bed, wearing sleep shorts and a tank top with sneakers, just listening to his stupidly fast heartbeat that was strangely soothing and made her want to cuddle him.

 

“I can’t take the pills, they make me sleep too long, or too little, and melatonin gives me nightmares, but if I throw my sleep schedule off I’ll miss classes.”

 

First of all, he could take the fourteen hour pill right now and still make it to his first class tomorrow morning, Malia just knew he hated being drugged and felt terrible and helpless for not being able to control his own body, and second of all, she was going to let Uncle Peter and Aunt Talia deal with this. Uncle Peter was a professional Dom, and Aunt Taila had five kids and knew how to get them to go the fuck to bed.

 

Maybe Stiles just needed someone to firmly lie him down and tell him to go to bed or else. Maybe Stiles just missed his parents. Claudia always was able to get Stiles to go to bed when he was wired and tired and a babbling mess. Malia knew cause even in high school, she slept in Stiles’s bed more than she ever did her own. He was a comfortable cuddle buddy, and her birth mother didn’t give a fuck about checking to see if she was in bed or not, just letting her sneak out whenever.

 

Maybe she should just call up Claudia and get her to talk him down from whatever panic he’s in now.

 

No no, Laura just texted to say she’s outside their building, she could let the professionals deal with this. It was too soon to be functional for her.

 

She got up and grabbed Stiles by the arm, snagging his keys off the hook next to the door and pulling him out into the hallway, twining their fingers together when Stiles made a needy little noise, sounding like a pathetic pup when they didn’t get their way. God he was endearing sometimes.

 

Outside Laura was waiting in Talia’s giant mom-van, so she must not have driven to the club that night where she worked, she probably got a ride from her mom. Malia opened up the back and pushed Stiles in, climbing in after him and closing the door. Laura pulled out from the front of the building while Malia buckled him into the middle seat, letting him lean against her. “So, we’re going back to the Rope Lounge?”

 

Malia nodded. “I need to show Stiles around. I think he might be interested.”

 

Laura looked in the mirror suspiciously at the gangly human, taking a subtle breath in so she could scent the boy she’s never met before. Of course, she knew who Stiles _was_ , half their family knew about the blatant claim her cousin had on him, determined to make sure they all knew he was her packmate, but she’d never met him before.

 

He smelled like a human. And _only_ a human. Maybe an energy filled one, but he… well he didn’t _look_ all that energy filled. Just smelled it.

 

“You sure you want him to go, Malia?”

 

Malia gave her a snort, rolling her eyes. “He knows we’re all weres, Laura. He knew before I met him.”

 

Laura rolled to a stop at a stop sign, looking surprised, and didn’t start again till the car behind them honked. Laura and Stiles both jumped at the noise, Laura out of distraction, and Stiles because the soothing motions of the car was lulling him into a dozy state.

 

Laura drove off again, biting her lower lip. She worked in the Rope Lounge with Derek as professional helpers, introducing and education new participants to the BDSM lifestyle and giving them a safe space to practice and learn. But that didn’t change the fact that the majority of the _members_ of the Rope Lounge were supernatural creatures and people who knew about them all being weres.

 

But Stiles was just… a human… why did he even _know_ about them?

 

“How did he find out?”

 

Malia shrugged, snorting when Stiles let out a sad little sigh at his head being moved on her shoulder. “Said it was because his friend got bit when he was sixteen, and then a bunch of creatures started popping up all over the woodwork to form some dysfunctional little pack, but I’m pretty sure his mom told him all about us back when the pack was still living in Beacon Hills.”

 

Back before the Hale Manor had been set on fire by some bitch who was molesting her little brother, she means. Laura grit her teeth just a little so she didn’t drop her fangs out. She had been so _angry_ when she learned what that monster had done to Derek, and it had taken him years to come out of his shell after that, so constantly scared of anyone who wasn’t pack. She blew out a breath of air, settling herself as she pulled onto the stretch of road leading to the Rope Lounge.

 

Uncle Peter owned and ran the place. He had since before the Hale fire even. He’d always been interested in non-sexual BDSM and practices, so he’d opened the place up with some of the massive fortune he seemed to have hidden away somewhere. Half them weren’t even sure where he’d made all that money, but Laura and Derek were _fairly_ sure he’d used some spell or something to see the future for bet outcomes. It seemed like something he would do, and he never does it anymore, so what does it matter if he cheated a bunch of rich assholes out of money, right? Right.

 

Anyways, when the fire had happened, they all managed to escape. Kate and her father were dead as dead can be, and they all left to go stay with a very worried Peter, who had set them up in a big manor here in Berkley so they would have somewhere to go while they rebuilt.

 

A month in that manor had turned to six, and then a year, and before they knew it, the whole pack had found places to stay in Berkley, and very few of them had gone back to Beacon Hills.

 

The club parking lot was mostly empty because it was the middle of the week, and Laura pulled into the spot next to Derek’s stupidly glamorous Camaro, unbuckling her seatbelt as Malia did the same for Stiles and coaxed him out of the van. He clung to her arm, and made these desperate little whimpers like a pup, making Laura’s chest go all tight and her heart skipped as she got out of the car.

 

Oh yes, Peter was going to immediately adopt him. Or Talia. Talia might get to him first and pull him to her bosom like some crappy movie and baby talk him. Hell, the two of them might even get in a fight over the kid. It was still up for debate. It could go many ways at this point.

 

Malia gave her an amused look, apparently having heard her heart skip, and just gave her an eye roll. If she was bad, Malia was worse, if she’s managed to stick with him through the whole two years her mom had custody of her in Beacon Hills, _plus_ her first year and a half at college.

 

She waved off the bouncer on the way inside. Stiles was the same age as Malia, and you only needed to be eighteen to get in, but Malia diligently held out her and Stiles’s clasped hands to get stamped with a ‘no alcohol’ tag before they went in. It wasn’t a sex club, and there were no drugs involved, so all they needed was the tag. Uncle Peter had given that to her as his one request, to follow the club rules or he’d make her pay for a membership, same thing he’d done for Derek and Laura before they’d started working there.

 

Cora started working in the club last year when she was eighteen, mostly during the school year when she had to be in class in the day, but the bartenders in the main lounge room knew not to give her alcohol or they’d get one single warning before they’re fired. Peter was generous, and stated that their one warning was that they _must_ have forgotten Cora was underage and not just giving her drinks because she’s pretty.

 

Believe it or not, he took the club very seriously, and he didn’t want his pack thinking they could take advantage of the rules just because they were related to him. He hired them because they were _good_ at this, and had put in the time for training and learning the business, not because he was into nepotism.

 

Stiles followed after her with more pathetic puppy noises -he had to _walk_ and _stand_ right now and it wasn’t really working for him and he kinda wish he’d just taken the pills instead because this was torture- and Malia lead him into the main lounge room while Laura went to a hallway off to the side, heading back to where her and Derek worked together. The hallway was actually pretty massive and curved around to the back of the building where it had dozens more rooms. Some public rooms for showing, some private ones they could rent, and about a dozen or so specialized rooms for specific kinks.

 

Peter had the loft above the club, big enough to hold half the pack at once, but it was pretty much mostly him and a few others at any given time. It was nice up there. You could tell Peter was really invested in the club. He loved the place.

 

Malia’s favorite room was the puppy room. She went there sometimes when she was stressed out, and Cora worked there when she was on duty, since she said she wanted to be a pet owner. It was nice, and her cousins were all great, but Cora _understood_ her need to bark at things and get scritches.

 

It was a nice room. She wasn’t fully sure if Stiles would like it there though. Well, he probably would, because he was like her most of the time, but she wasn’t sure he would _fit_ there.

 

Peter was sitting on one of the couches in the lounge, the room dreadfully empty while he went through the month’s reports Talia had given him a couple hours back.

 

After the fire, the pack had been _thankful_ beyond words for his help, but it had grated on Talia’s mind a little that she couldn’t provide for her pack in that time. So Peter had her come work for him as his book keeper. She went to college for accounting -like the nerd she was- and she had grasped onto that line with both hands. Ten years later, and she honestly _liked_ that work. It kept the majority of her time free for pack business, but it let her let go of that need to be completely in charge whenever she had to ask Peter for help with something, because he wasn’t paying her, so she could sit comfortably knowing that she was just getting what she was owed when she needed the help.

 

Peter had never had a better relationship with his sister before, and it honestly shocked him how much better he _understood_ her now. He just wished he’d figured her out before the fire. They had so many years of actually _liking_ each other to catch up on. Honestly loving and wanting to be around Talia was still a new feeling sometimes. He used to think it was just because he was a Dom, and he didn’t want to bow to any alpha. Now he realizes that just isn’t true.

 

He looked up from his reports when a fast heartbeat entered the room, raising an eyebrow as his niece dragged in a kid the same age as her, who seemed like a little bunny with how fast his heart beat. He looked like a walking zombie, feet dragging a little while he made pathetic noises.

 

This must be Stiles, Malia’s ADHD packmate that she insisted was honestly so perfect and amazing that he almost made her wish she was interested in men.

 

And he looked _terrible_. Adorable, with a cute little upturned nose and moles, but like he hasn’t slept in a month.

 

Malia led him over to the couch and made him sit down right next to Peter. “Stiles, this is Uncle Peter. He’ll… fix you.”

 

Peter raised an incredulous eyebrow at the girl, looking a little horrified at the words and about to tell her that’s _not how this works_ , before he could hear Laura let out a snorting little giggle from a full hallway away. He sighed, turning to Stiles, who curled up next to him on the couch and leaned against his arm. He put the files back in his folder and closed it with a little sigh. Malia took the folder from him and stood up again. “I’ll go put these in your dropbox, you deal with that.”

 

She left. As much as she loved the boy, she understood that this was Stiles’s game now. He could either fall asleep on this couch -at which point she’ll probably come back to carry him up to Peter’s apartment and steal a bed there- or he could finally get his answers. It was a Wednesday, and Cora was in the puppy room. That’s where she would be.

 

Peter turned a little when he could feel Stiles nuzzling into him, and wondered his awake the kid was. He wouldn’t be getting to sleep with that fast heart, that’s for sure.

 

“So… I’m to fix you…”

 

Stiles rolled his head a little, making a curious noise. “Are all werecreatures hot?”

 

Peter paused, honestly thinking that over. “Hot?”

 

Stiles let out a vague little mumble, to jumbled to really understand, before pulling his face out of Peter’s bicep. “Malia is like a heated blanket, your arm is just as hot. Scott’s hugs are what it feels like to open the oven door while standing over it and it burns.”

 

Peter nodded with a little ‘ahh’ sound. “Um, yes, that’s a were thing I suppose. I’m Peter Hale, by the way.”

 

Stiles nodded back, looking dazed and sleepy. “Malia told me you know about BDSM.”

 

Peter nodded again, turning to watch him. “Yes, this is a club for it. Which I own.”

 

Stiles let out a little sigh, pulling his legs up under him. “Does it hurt?”

 

Peter seemed shocked by that. “Well, no, it doesn’t have to hurt. Some people _like_ it to hurt, but it doesn’t have to hurt unless you want it to, and if it hurts when you _don’t_ want it to, it’s not being done right.”

 

Stiles let out a little relieved sigh. “What ways are there to do it other than hitting?”

 

Peter winced at the way he put it, but this kid was too far past exhausted to really make much sense at this point.

 

“Well, there’s a lot of ways to to it without pain. Some subs like taking orders from their Doms, just doing what they ask of them. Some like being tied up in various forms of bondage. Some people like pet play, or ageplay. There are lots of ways to make it… not hurt.”

 

Stiles nodded a little more than necessary, elbow propped up on the top of the couch cushion, and his eyes closed. He blinked them open when Peter didn’t say anything for a while, and Peter honestly wondered if this kid was okay.

 

“Okay, so, can those help me sleep?”

 

Peter was quiet for a bit. Oh god, _when_ did this kid last sleep? Malia said he had issues with it, but this was a little extreme to be honest. Maybe he’s really just that _exhausted_ right now.

 

He stood up from the couch, holding his hand out to help the kid up. “You know what, how about I show you the backrooms. They’re nice and safe, no sex, no pain, you can see if anything catches your interest. They could help you get to sleep if used in the right way, to help you calm down.”

 

The kid blearily stumbled along after him, still making sad puppy noises, and it clenched at Peter’s heart and made him want to swaddle him in a big blanket and carry him off to sleep. He’s not sure his attempt would be _un_ welcome, but he wasn’t about to try without asking first.

 

The first six rooms were completely empty, and the next two rooms both had pain play going on in them, so Peter gently guided Stiles past where he could hear flogging going on in one room, and spanking in another, to where a nice Domme about his age was tying up a male sub about Stiles’s age, running her hands through his soft hair while she did. He looked blissed out and relaxed. Stiles watched them curiously before Peter gentle tugged him along to get to their first kink room.

 

It was the puppy room, where Malia was looking sleepy in a puppy bed and Cora was petting her. Stiles made a soft little noise and stumbled into the room over to her, sitting down next to the puppy bed with a sigh, reaching out so he could card his fingers through her hair like he knew she loved. She nipped at his fingers in a gentle welcome, and nuzzled sleepily down into the soft bed.

 

Stiles seemed content with that and went about getting back up, before finding he really couldn’t with his weak tired muscles, and Peter came back over to give him a hand up before he just gave up and decided he lived on the floor now.

 

Maybe if it was his choice, but it would be unkind to leave the poor little human stranded on the ground.

 

There was a slightly more _strange_ room next door, the human doll room. It had lots of dress up stuff, dresses and make up, things to make your human doll look nice and pretty so you could play with them. Peter personally avoided the room cause it made him feel squirmy, but it was popular with a few of the patrons, and as much as he personally couldn’t do it, he understood it was important to them.

 

He avoided that room now, because he had the feeling it wouldn’t be Stiles’s thing either, just based off what Malia had told them all about him. And she talked about him more often than she didn’t.

 

If it turned out he was into that he could come back later, but Peter would be terrible at explaining it all to him.

 

The next room was designed for sensory deprivation. It mainly had a tank and some towels, with a little bathroom to wash off before you went in connected. Across the hall was the second part of the deprivation section with blindfolds and earphones, things they could use for a more specific sensory play.

 

Stiles looked into the room with the tank and let out a shudder at the sight of it. “I don’t like water in my ears.”

 

He obviously knew what the tank was for and didn’t want any part of that. That’s okay. Water mixed with this level of exhaustion would be a bad idea anyways.

 

They passed by other rooms, and Stiles asked quiet little questions about all of them before moving on. If they made it through them all without Stiles’s finding something he was interested in, Peter just planned on taking him through the locked door at the end of the hallway and up the stairs to his apartment to try and convince him to sleep. He didn’t care if he had to pet his head and wrap him in a blanket to do it, this damn kid needed to close his eyes before he passed out.

 

In fact, he looked like he could use a couple night’s sleep without going to his classes for a few days. Peter could feel himself getting protective over him, this was Malia’s packmate, so he was pack too, and Talia would get raised hackles at the idea of one of her pack looking so sickly like this, a little dizzy with how out of it he was, a little weepy with how tired he couldn’t help but be.

 

They got to the end of the hallway to Peter’s personal favorite rooms. The ageplay rooms. The nursery was on the right from Peter’s stairwell door, and the playroom was to the left. The room to the left was closed, but it didn’t have a sign on it, so Peter just gave a quiet little knock before opening the door.

 

Erica, Boyd and Isaac were inside. Isaac was sitting on Boyd’s lap while the man quietly read him a story while Erica -who was muh bigger than Isaac, who was only two, and she was six- sat on the floor in front of the toychest playing with Batman and Robin figures.

 

He turned to Stiles, waiting for the next question that he always seemed to have over new rooms, but he didn’t get any of the ones he was expecting.

 

“Is that Batman? I wanna see.”

 

Stiles stumbled into the room, collapsing onto the plush carpet in front of the toychest next to Erica, looking through the toychest curiously till he found a Joker figure, his whole face lighting up delightedly.

 

Erica let out a giggle, pointing at Stiles’s pajama pants. “Daddy, he has Batman pants. I want Batman pants.”

 

Stiles looked down at his pants and let out an almost manic giggle, poking them. “Batman is cool. I love him.”

 

Erica nodded, humming pleasantly while Boyd ran his hand he wasn’t holding Isaac and the book with through her hair. Peter came in and sat at one of the chairs around the craft table, watching them with an elbow on his knee and his head in his hand. What are the chances, right?

 

“Batman is _so_ awesome. My favorite is Wonder Woman though.”

 

Peter just sat there and listened to Erica and Stiles chatter on all about DC characters and how much they loved them. Boyd was gently rocking Isaac on the rocking chair, the man was about half asleep, thumb tucked into his mouth while he snoozed on his daddy’s shoulder.

 

Stiles seemed perfectly content, if a bit manic and giggly from being so exhausted, but very happy to be chattering away while he played with figures with Erica.

 

Maybe Stiles would fit in here. If he did, there would be no stopping Peter and Talia from absorbing him into the pack as a whole. He would be one of their pack humans by the end of the week.

 

Should they call Claudia and the sheriff to formally ask them about that? Stiles was twenty, but Peter is pretty sure they’re both old blood Polish and might have some issues with Stiles formally joining a pack without prior notice… no, John and Claudia are both pretty liberal… but he should call them... just in case.

 

He was already pretty sure Stiles was going to be a part of their pack.

 

Isaac let out the sweetest little yawn about an hour into Stiles and Erica’s geek out session, making Boyd nuzzle into his neck, covering him in soothing scents and calm aura. Boyd was _good_ at calm. He sat up in the rocker and said in a quiet voice, “Erica, sweetie, it’s time that we get going. Baby brother is sleepy and you have class tomorrow.”

 

Erica made a sad little noise, but she was a generally pleasant little girl in her headspace, so she sighed, and turned to Stiles -her new best friend- and handed him the Batman and Robin figures, before crushing him in a tight werewolf hug, making the other giggle a little. They chatted on for a bit while Boyd stood with the baby on his hip, talking with Peter while they said their goodbyes.

 

Boyd quietly gave an aside to Peter, asking if he could ask Stiles for his phone number or contact info later, since he needed more littles for Erica to play with that have the same interests, and Peter just nodded and said he’d pass it along when Stiles was… well he _said_ that when Stiles was _big_ again, but he meant that when Stiles had had more sleep and could think rationally again he would ask if he wanted to text Erica or maybe go on playdates with her at some point.

 

If Stiles was to get absorbed into the pack, he’d be seeing them all eventually anyways.

 

When the three of them were gone, Stiles let out a massive yawn, reaching up to tiredly fist at his eyes, looking sleepy and way too cute before letting out a high tired whine, going right back into exhausted.

 

But… his heartbeat was slower, he was fidgeting less, he was even breathing more stable. Okay, maybe this _did_ work for him?

 

Stiles turned so he was on his hands and knees, crawling the few feet over to where Peter was still sitting and leaning against his leg with a little whine.

 

Peter reached down and ran his fingers through his soft hair. “Hey there, sweetheart, you tired?”

 

Stiles nodded with another whine. He seemed to be down to basic noises as communication right now. It was utterly charming. Were babies tended to communicate like that too, and it made Peter’s chest clench tight at the thought of Stiles acting like a cub.

 

Peter sighed, letting him lean against him while he pet at him for a few more minutes. Stiles didn’t seem to rouse any so he took a gamble with the next steps.

 

Across the hallway was a nursery, with a changing table and some cribs -three of them, since that’s the most baby aged littles they’ve ever had at once- and pajamas on loan in case any of them needed those, but Stiles was Malia’s packmate, and so Maila would want him to sleep with her when she eventually wandered up from her session with Cora, so he should really bring Stiles upstairs to Malia’s usual room so he could sleep there.

 

But, he didn’t want to rouse the boy any. He cooed down at him, getting his attention with soft clicks and a rumbling purr coming from his chest, making Stiles watch him curiously.

 

“Can I pick you up?”

 

Stiles didn’t even seem to think that over, as soon as it registered he was nodding. Malia picked him up sometimes, because she was massively strong and liked manhandling him, and it always made him feel soft and cared for inside. He loved it so much. He gave a little sigh when Peter stood up and reached down to get his hands around Stiles’s chest, a little awkward for a moment till the man had an arm under his butt and around his back. Stiles wrapped his legs around Peter’s waist like he’d seen the other boy Isaac doing, so he was sitting on his hip like that. It had looked comfortable.

 

It was comfortable.

 

He sighed again and laid his head on Peter’s shoulder, cuddling into him. Peter just stood there and swayed with him for a minute, reveling in the feeling of a nice warm body in his arms, completely trusting him to take care of him in that moment. It was heady for him as well.

 

He sighed and pulled out his apartment key from his back pocket with a little sigh, moving out of the nursery with a renewed purpose. He unlocked the apartment stairwell before going in. In the morning a cleaning worker would come through and fix up all the rooms that had been used today so they were safe and germ free, so he just left the playroom how it was. Besides, Stiles had been a good boy and remembered to put away almost all the toys he used.

 

His dropbox was on the back of his apartment stairwell door, but he ignored the account files Malia had dropped in it for him and just started on up the stairs with Stiles’s snuffling little breaths in his ear. The kid was utterly calm as they moved towards the unknown. Completely trusting.

 

It was _precious_.

 

Malia’s room in his apartment was across the hallway from the kitchen, because the girl was ruled entirely by her nose and stomach for basically all her needs, and she had a nice big bed to nest in while she was staying with him, so Peter took Stiles there.

 

Stiles whine a little as being pulled off the nice warm werewolf’s body, but he let himself be set down on the bed, not even complaining when Peter reached down to take off his shoes and pull the covers over him. Peter laid down next to him, on top of the covers as he got Stiles comfortable underneath. He carded his hand through soft hair again. “Hey there, you think you can close those eyes for me?”

 

Stiles made an honest effort to try, letting out a little sigh as he did, body going boneless against the bed as he relaxed back into the soft mattress.

 

It took a few more minutes of hair stroking and gentle scenting for it to happen, but Peter knew as soon as the boy was passed out in the bed, his heartbeat going slow and steady for once, muscles lax all over.

 

Peter reached under the covers to gently pull Stiles’s phone out of his sweater pocket, and set the thing on silent, putting it on the bedside table before standing up again.

 

Yeah, he’s definitely going to make sure Talia gets the message, that Stiles is pack. He’s _theirs_. They’re keeping him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, so, anyways, here you go. I haven't forgotten about this fic, I just fandom hop a lot and so it takes me a while to update. But now I have a fully clear idea of where this one is going and its Gonna Be Cute. 
> 
> gayerthancanon.tumblr.com

There was something discerning to be said about waking up and not knowing where you were.

 

Stiles now knows what a toddler must feel like all the time. Or a drunk. More likely a drunk.

 

But Malia was there with him, wrapped around him from behind like he was her teddy bear, and his bladder was a dull ache in his lower stomach, demanding he take care of it soon. He rolled in her arms, before letting out a breathless squeak when she tightened them, before giving a little more fight to it. 

 

Malia loved to wrestle, Stiles has seen her take down Jackson and Liam, but she rarely gets rough with him. Scott thinks it’s because he’s a human, just pure pack instinct to keep him safe instead of possibly harming him.

 

But no matter her love for rough housing, she loved sleep more, and would give up after a moment if she decided he wasn’t worth it, but sleep was. It only took another few moments to wriggle out of her hold, nearly tripping over air when he landed on the soft carpeted floor. She growled at him, before turning over and going back to sleep. Someone had put his phone on the bedside table, and he grabbed that before cautiously leaving the room he was in.

 

Where were… Peter. Right. Weird Uncle Peter who owns a BDSM club and is basically the pack’s sugar daddy. Right. Malia had finally foisted him off on an adult. 

 

He wandered down the hallway, finally finding a bathroom after looking into several rooms. He found a closet, an office, and he’s fairly sure he can hear growling from the kitchen, which seemed to be across the hall from the bedroom he woke up in, but he’s not awake enough to  _ deal with that _ until he’s no longer in need of a bathroom and possibly sticking his head under the faucet. 

 

He considered going back to the room and waiting with Malia until she woke up, because,  _ people _ , but on the way back, someone came out of the kitchen with a wolfy growl, looking annoyed while she brushed past him, to the sound of laughing coming from the kitchen. 

 

“Cora, don’t be so upset, you know we love you.”

 

Cora turned around, obviously ready to start a fight with what was probably her siblings, Stiles guesses, before getting a good look at him and smirking. Stiles knew he looked like he’s been run over a little, the bags under his eyes are more impressive than they usually are, but there’s no need to be rude about it. 

 

“Aww, Malia’s cub is awake. And he looks more alive this time.”

 

Two heads stuck out of the kitchen like nosy children, and Stiles was hit with the bitter annoyance that everyone in this family was unfairly beautiful.

 

There was a grumpy looking man with dark hair, and what looked like an older, but almost identical woman, and Stiles is getting a strange, vague memory, of being babysat by  _ one _ of them, maybe both, but he can’t be completely sure which. They had the same nose and eyes and hair. Malia looked nothing like them. Stiles thinks she takes after her mother.

 

The grumpy looking one -pouty, Stiles wanted to say, but pouty doesn’t work for adults, right? Not an adult that looks like he could bench press you with one arm anyways- stopped looking grumpy and his features slid into an interesting smirk, mirroring the one that Cora had given him. “He looks tired and lost. Mom will  _ love _ him.”

 

Stiles rubbed his eyes with a little sigh. “Why, is she here?”

 

Laura -Stiles remembers her from last night, sort of- grinned at him, and her smile didn’t look anything like their smirks. She looked genuinely delighted. “Nah, Mom’s not here, but don’t worry, you’ll meet her later. Come into the kitchen. Uncle Peter is downstairs working, but Derek’s made lunch. He’s good at food, doesn’t set the stove on fire or anything.”

 

Stiles followed them into the kitchen with his face screwed up in confusion a little. “Why do I need to meet your mom?”

 

He was shoved into a barstool at the island in the middle of the kitchen, and Laura and Cora boxed him in while Derek filled a plate with what was  _ not _ breakfast foods, but smelled amazing. He’s been living off ramen and coffee and market deli items that need minimal cooking for the past three weeks, since Malia could blow up a hot dog, and he’s been too tired to put effort into his life, and he’s making grabby hands at the plate before it’s even fully within his reach, stomach growling.

 

Derek looked smug as he set the plate in front of him, watching him dig into homemade mac and cheese with chicken strips on the side. His sisters, like Malia, could also, set fire to water, and they were not allowed to cook in Uncle Peter’s kitchen, under penalty of cleaning the entire room after their most recent  _ experiment  _ goes wrong.

 

Laura lounged off to the side, sitting caddy corner in her chair, unashamedly studying his cute little snub nose and the millions of moles she could see. She had a mug of coffee that was black as Derek claimed his soul was, but Cora’s mug was more milk than caffeine. “Mom will want to meet you. If Malia is finally willing to bring you over, even if you already have another pack, that means she’ll want to meet you.”

 

Stiles paused for a moment, before making a concentrated effort not to speak with his mouth. Derek put a glass of water in front of him, and he mumbled a little ‘thank you’ before draining half of it. That should help with the weird hangover feeling in his head. “I don’t… have a pack?”

 

Cora snorted. “Of course you do. You don’t smell like an omega.”

 

Stiles thought about that for a few seconds before turning to her with a shake of his head. “Why would I smell like an omega at all? I’m human?”

 

Laura nodded, looking wise, like the next pack alpha she was. “Little magic human, Druid, I think your parents are? They both immigrated, right?”

 

Stiles didn’t see how that had anything to do with this. Mom’s parents came over in WWII, and dad’s were just a generation before that. “Yup, got that one right, both sides of the family are full blood Polish immigrants. I don’t see what that has to do with anything, if we’re talking heritage, you guys are Brazilian. Still doesn’t change the fact that we’re all American.”

 

Laura frowned a little. “That’s not… you’re a Druid, on both sides of the family. Just like we’re werewolves. It’s… magic. Of course you have a pack. We can all feel you have a bond.”

 

Stiles slowed down about halfway through his plate, not wanting to get sick. He could just leave. They’re being weird and confusing, and he’s still got that weird hungover feeling in the back of his head, like he was still exhausted. He really wasn’t. He slept like… so long last night. So long. He flipped over his phone on the table and pressed the home button. He had a bunch of texts, but they all seemed to be from Scott and Liam, who kept using the group chat while he was asleep and filling up his inbox. He loved them, but they could use their own chat while he wasn’t around.

 

It was half past one. He was way too late to make it to even his second class today.

 

“You’re not missing anything, Malia said she used your phone to email your professors and tell them you were sick today.”

 

He might have said some of that out loud.

 

He shook his head, looking frustrated. He’s not upset she called him in sick, actually, he’s very thankful to her for that. As rough as the past few months have been, he doesn’t want to fail any of his classes. “If you say I have a pack, wouldn’t it be inappropriate for you to bring me to meet your alpha?”

 

Laura seemed genuinely sad when she answered that. “Stiles, if we had known your pack had been treating you like this, we would have asked Malia to bring you to us years ago.”

 

Stiles was fully baffled at that. What alternate universe has he stumbled into now? “Treating me like what?”

 

“Neglecting you. Neglect as a form of abuse can hurt just as much as physical harm, when you have bonds like this.” Derek seemed genuinely sad, and Stiles suddenly remembered what had brought them all to another city in the first place. The fire.  _ Kate Argent _ . Child molestation.

 

Derek was giving him this sad look, like not being with Scott and his misfit pack could be just as damaging to him as that. Stiles wondered if he honestly thought that.

 

“I’m not being… Scott doesn’t ignore me, he’s basically my brother, but that doesn’t matter even if he did, because he’s  _ not _ my alpha. I’m human.”

 

“You’re magic, you have a bond with him, we can all feel it, you feel sick right now, sick and unable to sleep, and you get a headache as soon as you’re away from Malia, because she’s the only pack you have here in this new place, and you can  _ say _ you’re not happy, Stiles, we can tell.”

 

Stiles shoved away from the counter, wobbling a little as he got away from the kitchen bar, looking annoyed. “He’s not my alpha, I’m not a werewolf, just because I don’t feel good doesn’t mean you have the right to insinuate that I’m being abused.”

 

There was suddenly a figure in the doorway to the kitchen, looking a little bit pissed. “He’s right, and none of the three of you have the right to imply that he’s been abused. You realize, calling him abused also implies that Malia has hurt him too, but I guess none of you thought of that, because you’re up here ready to put all this blame on a true alpha that was bit less than four years ago now, to make up for the fact that  _ none _ of us knew Malia’s packmate was sick. Your mother raised you all better than that and I expect you all to apologize.”

 

It was Peter, and he was not happy at all, arms crossed and glaring down the other three betas in his kitchen. Stiles felt overwhelmed, and a little sick, and shakily made his way out of the kitchen. Peter stepped aside for him instantly, letting a calming hand brush against his side, and Stiles could see little lines of black running up his fingers, pulling away the sick in his stomach as he walked past, back to the room he’d woken up in, crawling into the bed next to Malia. 

 

“What’s wrong? Why are you  _ vibrating _ ?” Malia was up in seconds, looking at him with sharp eyes. 

 

Stiles shuddered once, curling up in a little ball on the bed. He still felt ill. “You’re cousins are weird and they called Scott abusive. He’s not even my alpha. I don’t understand.”

 

Malia crawled over him, her face pushing into his neck, and bodily laid down on top of him. At first, it hurt his tense muscles, but then she started pulling out pain like Peter had, and he let out a soft little moan, turning into a puddle on the bed from the relief of it. He hadn’t even realized how pained his muscles were getting until they were relaxed.

 

They stayed like that for a long time, Stiles just relaxing into the feeling of no pain for once, before the door cautiously crept open. Stiles and Malia looked up, Stiles half expecting her terrible cousins to be there, ready to apologize -though, he didn’t want to hear it, he still didn’t understand why they  _ said that _ \- but was pleasantly surprised to find Peter there, looking at them both with sad eyes. “Oh, kids, they might have been little shits about it, but they were right, we need to bring Stiles to Talia. He’s getting sick and it’s not a natural illness.”

 

Malia made sad little noises, rubbing her nose into a mole under Stiles’s ear. “What’s wrong with him? It’s been getting harder and harder for him to sleep for the past few months, he’s so tired all the time.”

 

Stiles didn’t protest them talking about him. He was too tired  _ to _ talk himself. He used to talk constantly, all the time, couldn’t get him to shut up, but now... 

 

Peter sat next to them on the bed, gently running his fingers through Stiles’s hair like he had the night before. “He’s not doing well without his alpha around, Malia. He’s a druid, if they bond with an alpha, like he has with his, they get very sick when they leave them.”

 

Stiles made a confused noise. “Scott isn’t my alpha.”

 

Peter sighed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, cub, he is. You’ve been magic your whole life. Your parents taught you to use it, and when Scott was bit, you were there and you helped him the whole way through it. You bonded with him before he even became an alpha, and now you’re getting sick without him. It’s entirely a fluke that you didn’t get this sick towards the end of your first year in college.”

 

Stiles pushed up into his soft stroking hand, trying not to cry. “You mean, they were right, about Scott hurting me?”

 

Peter gave the gentlest little tug to his hair, shaking his head. “No, if Scott didn’t know you were his beta, that he’s your alpha, it’s not his fault. Derek, Laura and Cora should  _ never _ have told you that, they were stepping over a line they shouldn’t have touched, and if they had said that anywhere near Scott himself, it would be tantamount to snubbing his entire pack. The  _ only _ way you could put this blame on him, is if he knew you would get sick, and sent you away anyways. He didn’t even send you here, you willingly went.”

 

Stiles sighed, falling limp into the pillow again. Malia was still blanketing his back, giving off heat like none other. “This isn’t right. Lydia is a banshee, and Jackson is a wolf, and they both go to school half a country away, they don’t get sick. Does that mean they’re stronger?”

 

Malia growled into his neck. “You’re stronger than they ever will be. You’re a druid, they’re more fragile.”

 

Stiles buried his face into the pillow, smelling sad and desperate and a little sick. “Great. I’m not sure I see the difference.”

 

***

 

The Hale house was more accurately called a mansion, massive, on the edge of the city, between the ocean -and what Stiles was sure must have been a private beach- and an outcropping of trees that covered at least ten acres.

 

Stiles was laying down in the backseat of Peter’s van, napping a little with his head in Malia’s lap. It was a longer ride than Peter would have preferred with a pup sick in the back, but he seemed to be overall okay, dozing away the ride.

 

Malia’s stomach grumbled. She’d only had enough time to grab the leftovers from the kitchen before they left, and that wasn’t quite enough for a werewolf most of the time. “Do you think aunt Talia is making stuff for pack night?”

 

It was Thursday. They always met at the house for a pack dinner on Thursday, if they could. Peter let out a little sigh. This girl was entirely controlled by food sometimes. He knew she wasn’t neglecting Stiles, she just wanted something to eat. “Yeah, kiddo, there will be food, I’m sure, but you’ll have to help out in the kitchen since we’re early by a few hours.”

 

She sighed right back, looking out the window as they pulled into the long driveway, gently stroking Stiles’s soft hair. “Do you think she’ll help him?”

 

Peter really did. “Yes, she’s already contacted his alpha and parents. She’s going to get them here as soon as she can so we can figure this out.”

 

“...am I bad for not noticing? Not realizing why he was sick?”

 

Stiles made a protesting noise in her lap, but Peter just calmly met her eyes in the rear view mirror as they pulled into a spot outside the house. “Malia, you’re very young, and your mother got custody of you during what should have been an important time during your training. You should have had no way of knowing that druids get sick without their alphas. No one in our pack is a druid, the closest we have is Mary, and she’s only dabbled in minor spells and potions. She wouldn’t fall ill if separated from Talia. Obviously, Claudia and John have never had an alpha before, or they never would have let things come to this.”

 

Stiles was gangly getting out of the van, but Peter was able to steady him while Malia just looked depressed from the back where she was pulling out an overnight bag. Peter told them they needed to plan for Talia to be an overprotective alpha mom and force them to stay there. It had Stiles’s laptop, and therefore, days worth of illegally downloaded tv shows and movies. Stiles wasn’t feeling up to much, but she didn’t want him to go manic without something to keep him occupied if he needed it.

 

Talia met them at the front door, where she stood for a long moment, just watching Stiles with a sad expression, subtly scenting the boy, before letting out a noise, more like a distraught parent than an alpha, immediately pulling the young man into her arms.

 

“Oh this poor boy.”

 

Peter raised an eyebrow, not exactly shocked at his sister’s actions, but still judging her a little. “Talia, it’s normally customary to introduce yourself before initiating physical contact.”

 

Talia glared over at him. She was just the littlest bit shorter than Stiles, so about the same height as Peter, and as such, had Stiles’s face pushed into her neck while she scented him. The whole pack seemed to be rubbing themselves all over him today in a need to comfort him.

 

Stiles spared a moment to wonder if Scott would take that as a threat when he got here.

 

When he got here?

 

Was Scott coming? Peter said Talia already talked to them, but were they coming? Why is he so… sure, that they’re coming?

 

“I can feel… is Scott getting closer?”

 

Talia finally let his head out of her neck -if he’d been shorter, he likely would have been squashed to her bosom- and stopped arguing with Peter. Malia was heading into another room. She wasn’t the most emotional person, and today and yesterday has already been trying to her, so she’s likely gonna need some time alone before she’s back to pushing into his space and demanding attention.

 

“Yes, sweetheart, I Skyped with your parents an hour ago, they loaded up your alpha and one of his betas for a road trip. Can you feel him getting closer?”

 

Stiles nodded, feeling less sick already. “It’s… better. Less nausea, less dizzy. I can feel  _ him _ I think?”

 

She smiled. “Good. You’ll be able to relax until things are settled then. Your parents and alpha will be here soon, and they’ll help make this right again.”

 

Stiles bit his lip, looking away, voice a little whisper when he spoke. Even Malia in the next room could hear it though. “Am I going to have to quit school and go back home? I could probably get most of my credits transferred to the community college there, but that’s far from my first choice school.”

 

Talia looked at him for a long moment before leading him inside the house, past the room Malia had gone into, into a bright modern kitchen. There had to be at least four crock pots going on the counters, and one of the ovens was on. Stiles wondered how many wolves it’s going to take to eat all that, but Malia said her pack was a lot bigger than the cobbled together group they’d made in Beacon Hills.

 

For the second time that day, he was seated at someone else’s kitchen island, and he warily scooted away from her in his seat. He didn’t dislike her, but her kids had put him in a hell of a bad mood when he’d woken up.

 

“Stiles, you don’t have to give up going to college. Not here. But you can’t be that far away from your alpha.”

 

Stiles shook his head, looking away again. “Scott isn’t going to move here. It’s not his first choice veterinary school, and he’s still go Beacon Hills itself to watch over. Either way, one of us gives up school. I guess I could move back and agree to train with Deaton and Mom instead.”

 

Talia gave his hand a little squeeze. “They would be lucky to take you on for magic training, but that’s not necessary either. You don’t have to leave this city, and Scott doesn’t have to come down here. If Alpha McCall agrees, we can arrange a shared custody agreement. You’ll be considered a part of both the McCall and Hale packs. He would be your alpha, but so would I. This agreement only works in packs with good standing alliances together, to keep the risk of a pack war at bay, from hurting the fostered pack member.”

 

Stiles watched her for a long minute, eyes narrowed in a show of cynicism that he hasn’t had the energy to feel in well over a month. As the time passes, as Scott gets closer, he can feel himself going from zombie to alive again. The headache was receding and he’s starting to remember what it feels like to actually use his brain again.

 

“Alliances are made for the benefit of both parties, what could Scott give you that’s so important.”

 

Talia let out a snort, waving her hand off to the side with what looked like annoyance. “Benefit, what’s even the point of that? Hunter rumors, that’s what that is. As if packs can’t just be  _ friends _ with someone without gaining something from it. Even still, are you saying you don’t believe yourself to be a good pack member? There’s nothing wrong with getting a new member. It doesn’t matter if you have the personality of a potato and do absolutely nothing in your spare time, you’re Malia’s packmate and you’re hurting. It would be outright  _ rude _ of me not to offer help.”

 

Stiles couldn’t help but smile a little at her rant. She looked honestly offended that he didn’t think she could just do something nice.

 

This whole pack, they were so weird, but they’ve been nothing but loving to him so far. Well, the kids had gone about it in the most dickish way, but looking back in it, they genuinely thought he’d been abused, and were rearing and ready to absorb him into their lives to take care of them.

 

He just kept leaning away from her with a half scowl on his face, making Peter snicker at them both from the background where he was stirring something in one of the crock pots. Stiles has had enough of this conversation for now. She’s weirdly cuddly and he’s not into  _ new people _ right now.

 

“Hey, Malia, didn’t you say you were hungry?” He spoke at a regular tone of voice. He’d learned enough while living with the wolves back in BH, not to shout. Scott could handle a raised voice, but Liam startled so bad he felt terrible for the poor thing.

 

There was a rustling in the next room, before Malia appeared in the doorway, as always, summoned by the promise of being fed.

 

“Food?”

 

Talia sighed, letting go of Stiles’s hand, standing up from the counter so he would relax a little. “Yeah, there’s stuff in the fridge, help yourself, it’s your house too.”

 

Malia muttered something about being threatened with kitchen duty if she went looking for food, and Talia gave Peter an exasperated look. “As if I would make her cook, Peter, no one wants to eat what she makes.”

 

Malia didn’t even dignify that with an answer, already raiding the fridge for leftovers. She ended up with more than she could carry without dropping stuff, and Stiles just looked on, more amused that the others. “Ahh, so, how many people has she poisoned in this pack?”

 

Talia gave a sad little sigh. “She gave David food poisoning when she was only ten. Do you know how hard it is to give a werewolf food poisoning? It’s very hard.”

 

Stiles decided to give her an answer, of a sorts. “Well, I guess I’m already in the pack, then. She made me salt cookies when we’d known each other for a single week.”

 

Malia looked at him, half a bread roll in her mouth, buttering it as she took bites for maximum butter ingestion. “They tasted fine.”

 

“Mrs McCall said they made me almost dangerously dehydrated.”

 

She shrugged. “You should have been drinking more water, that’s not my fault.”

 

Stiles pointed ignored Alpha Hale, who was giving Peter the  _ biggest _ grin on the other side of the kitchen.

 

***

 

Oddly enough, Stiles did not expect to see Erica, Boyd and Isaac there that night.

 

Of course, he knew that they were a part of the pack from the way Erica’s eyes had flashed the night before at him. Okay, no, he didn’t ask, he assumed they were part of the pack, since Peter didn’t seem to have an issue with them being in his club, and they seemed right at home there.

 

But still, he didn’t expect to see them again the next day, at the Hale family house, while he was impatiently waiting as he felt his alpha -he had an alpha!!! That was still so weird!- get closer and closer as the hour went by. It was nearly a four hour drive here, because of all the damn traffic this time of day, plus, Dad never let Mom break any speed limits when she was in the car with him, so they were always running late to things.

 

But now he was sitting in the living room, squished up between two hot girls -physically, and also looks-wise- and somewhere, his thirteen year old self is weeping that he’s not even attracted to girls anymore.

 

Erica has a bit more sass to her while she’s ‘big’ -amusing, because he’s almost forgotten that he’d spent all of last night in a BDSM club, playing like a toddler in a playroom- and has already stolen his phone to put her number in, and bullied everyone else in the group into watching the new LEGO Batman movie.

 

Okay, he can tell Malia might have fought her about that, but she knew it was one of Stiles’s favorites, so she just squished him down into the couch between her and Erica.

 

Erica wasn’t subtle in the slightest about scent marking his neck while he was halfway in her lap, giving him little nuzzles and using her nose to trace between beauty marks.

 

Boyd and Isaac were comfortably settled on her other side, scenting and being scented by each other as the group showed a level of absolute comfort together.

 

Stiles only scents Malia back when she’s stressed out, but she does it to him all the time, rubbing against specific spots and pulling him in to nuzzle her neck when he was upset about something. And yet, he rarely actually did it back to her.

 

Should he be doing that more? Should he be scenting Erica back right now? Would that seem weird, since he’s a human and they probably knew it wasn’t completely natural to him? Would that seem like he was laying a claim on them?

 

He doesn’t want to ask them right now. That seems awkward to talk about. He’ll wait until he’s had a moment alone with Talia or Peter one day, and ask them. They seem to know more than all of them combined.

 

Sometimes, Stiles had to sit down and remind himself, that he was still a dumb child who probably shouldn’t be living away from home. That lots of other people the same age as him were also dumb children who probably shouldn’t be living away from home.

 

They were all just flailing around and hoping they made something of themselves, and half them didn’t even know how to make their own doctors appointments.

 

He would talk about the scenting thing with Talia later. When he was alone. So no one could make fun of him. 

 

Scott sure as shit wouldn’t know the significance of any of it, just that he has the urge to do it now.

 

Speaking of Scott…

 

Stiles sat up like a meerkat, making Malia and Erica grumble when it dislodged them, getting up on his knees so he could look towards the front of the house. The sun was already starting to go down, and so he couldn’t see anything through the light curtains in front of the windows -big, ceiling high windows that Rich people have- and even if he could, there were some beautifully trimmed rose bushes just outside that window, blocking off the lower half of the driveway from sight, but he could  _ feel _ them.

 

No less than three seconds after he’d sat up, all the other teenagers looked up too. 

 

Malia hummed, eyebrows raised. “I think you actually sensed them before we heard them, Sti.”

 

Stiles frowned. “It feels like they’re  _ right outside _ .”

 

“Nah, they're just coming up the driveway now. Would have heard them a few minutes ago otherwise.”

 

Isaac raised an eyebrow at the window while Erica put a pause on the movie. Stiles was secretly thankful for that, because the talking in the background is distracting and he’s getting a little overwhelmed by the fact that he can  _ feel _ Scott getting closer for the first time in his life. “You said we’re waiting for your alpha and parents, right?”

 

Stiles hummed. “And the new cub. Liam. He’s only been turned for a couple of months. Met over a weekend where me and Malia went back to see him, he’s like a little skittish puppy. Follows Scotty around everywhere.”

 

Erica frowned. “Scott’s your alpha? Of course he follows him everywhere. If he doesn’t have any other betas to interact with, he’ll gravitate to the alpha to learn how to be a werewolf. We had Cora and Derek and Laura to help us, but he’s like… an only child.”

 

That made a shocking amount of sense.

 

Boyd cocked his head to the side, listening. “How’d he get bit anyways?”

 

“Car accident. Scott was visiting his mom, she’s an ER nurse, she told him a high school student got in an accident and wasn’t going to make it through the night. He offered while the kid was as lucid as they could make him.”

 

Boyd nodded. “They’re arguing. I can’t pick out the words, but someone is arguing.”

 

Malia narrowed her eyes for a moment, before shaking her head. “It’s your mom and dad.”

 

Stiles sighed. They weren’t actually a couple that argued a lot. They both argued with him almost constantly. Not even about anything important, he just tended to argue for the sake of arguing, but they rarely fought with each other, and it was usually about something completely stupid.

 

It was probably about something completely stupid. Or they were going to come in here and demand that Stiles go home with them for his health. It would either be completely stupid arguing or it was going to end with all three of them arguing.

 

He scrambled off the couch so he could meet them outside, his weird crew of young adults following behind. He got open the front door just as they were pulling up, and just barely through the front windshield of the car, he could see his parents talking about something.

 

Boyd snorted behind him. “She’s calling him a hypocrite, said he won’t let her get near the speed limit in town, but he broke it several times to get here.”

 

Erica shrugged. “Eh, I don’t blame him, if my kid was possibly dying in another town I’d probably break a few laws to get there.”

 

“You’d break a few faces just to get the last slice of pizza and you can’t even say you wouldn’t.”

 

Erica raised her nose up, not even looking Isaac in the eye. “You’re just upset that you know I’d win.”

 

Stiles stumbled out of the house before anyone could stop him, less dizzy and sick than he’d been in probably months. But even still, he was  _ Stiles _ , and so he nearly tripped when he got to the bottom of the steps, would have face planted on the ground if someone hadn’t caught him.

 

Scott was used to Stiles tripping over anything and everything in the universe, falling off chairs even when he looked like he had a firm seating, waking up on the floor even though he was all the way on the bed when he fell asleep. It was just what Stiles did.

 

But the look on Scott’s face when he looked up at him, it was complete and total worry, absolute  _ anxiety  _ even.

 

“Scott, I’m fine, I didn’t even hit the ground.”

 

Scott looked him over for a long minute with those big puppy dog eyes, and for the second time today, he found himself forced into an alpha hug. “You don’t smell right, you smell like someone else’s pack.”

 

Stiles sighed, wrapping his arms tight around Scott’s waist while he let his alpha nuzzle into his neck. “I’m sorry. They’re all a bunch of busy bodies and keep scenting me. It’s really weird. Is that how natural born packs normally act?”

 

Scott sighed into him, burying his nose in the base of Stiles’s neck. “I don’t know, bro. I’m so sorry you got sick because of me. I didn’t even know I was your alpha.”

 

Stiles shrugged. “Me either. I thought I was human so I was in the clear.”

 

It took a good five minutes before Stiles finally tried to pry himself out of Scott’s arms, and even then, only because Liam suddenly started mobbing him too. He took a minute to let the younger beta scent him as well, before leading them both into the house. Claudia and John had already disappeared into the house, probably to talk to Talia. Before Stiles could ask where they went, he was being nudged aside by Peter.

 

“Stiles, Alpha McCall, I would like to speak to the two of you before Talia asks you to a semi-formal meeting.”

 

Scott looked a little worried. He’s never been in a formal meeting with another alpha before. They followed him into an office on the first floor, near the back of the house. He shut the door and even Stiles could feel the change in the air, even if he couldn’t hear the soundproofing that had likely just been put up by the closed door.

 

Scott raised an eyebrow, listening hard for a moment. “I thought soundproofing could only do so much against werewolf hearing?”

 

Peter sat on the edge of a desk in front of a wall of windows, looking amused. “Whoever said that doesn’t know how soundwaves work. Average soundproofing will muffle the majority of all noise, so even if you can still hear noise outside, it’s unlikely you’ll hear individual words, but if you have the level of soundproofing this room has, the ability to keep soundwaves out, it’s a perfect system.”

 

Stiles whistled, and immediately regretted it. It felt like his ears were plugged up in this room. “Ugh, not worth it, not for my human ears, I don’t like it. How much does this even cost?”

 

Peter tilted his head to the side, thinking that over. “A… considerable amount of money.”

 

Stiles snorted. “Thought so.”

 

Scott went back to looking nervous again. “Okay, what do you need to talk to us about?”

 

Peter looked at him for a moment, thinking about something, before nodding to himself. “Stiles doesn’t want to go back to Beacon Hills. I can’t blame him, that place has been horrible to magical creatures since the nematon was cut. You’re probably able to stand it because you were bit, but Stiles is stronger in magic than you are, and it probably still stings. No matter what, he has the right to continue his schooling how he sees fit, and he’s already said he wants to do that here.”

 

Scott looked to Stiles for confirmation, and he nodded. Scott nodded back with a little sigh. “Okay, yeah, I get that, okay. Do you want me to move down here? Liam is still in high school, so… actually I don’t know what to do about that, I mean, his parents might not be willing for him to leave, but I’m not sure how he would do alone there-“

 

“Scotty, Scott, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m fine with you staying in Beacon Hills.”

 

Scott looked at him for a long minute, confused. “But, being apart is making you sick. I can’t leave you sick like this.”

 

Peter nodded. “No, we couldn’t possibly leave him sick like that, you’re right. Talia wants to foster Stiles as a beta here. Well, he’s not a werewolf, but with as much magic as he has, he would functionally be one of her betas in terms of bonds.”

 

Scott nodded. “Oh, good, that’s good. She would have an alpha bond with you too and it’ll make you stop getting sick?”

 

Stiles nodded back. “That’s what they said yeah.”

 

Scott sat back with a relieved sigh. He’d been so  _ upset _ when Alpha Hale told him Stiles had been sick and it was partially his fault. “Okay, so, I just have to share you with a good stable pack alpha who lives in the same town as you and wants what’s best for your physical and mental health. I have no issue with that, Stiles.”

 

Stiles looked relieved too. He didn’t think that Scott would be opposed, but he looked so relieved there was a way. “Okay, another thing, you’re gonna have to formally ask her to foster me. Peter will give you an actual instruction sheet when you talk to her later. It’s not like… it’s literally a ritual, that passes custody of a beta from one alpha to another, usually used when a beta wants to change packs but doesn’t want to break a bond with their current alpha because that can be both painful and traumatic and it’s only really supposed to be done like that if the alpha is refusing to let you go.”

 

Peter nodded, looking all wise and sage about it. “Yes. Normally this is done to send a beta to new territory, to break their bond entirely without pain, but, in this case, you’ll be formally asking Talia to share custody with you. If and when Stiles eventually goes back to you, there’s another ritual to break the bond with her without harming either of them, but for now, she’ll be his alpha as well. This is why it’s so important that you ask Talia to create a familial alliance when you go in to speak with her. Familial is important, because it shows that you all have roots in the same community of Beacon Hills, and that she could trust you if she needs to send betas back there, that you would not only refrain from harming them, but help them if needed.”

 

Scott nodded, looking curious about that. “So essentially, we’d be like extended family. Both different packs, but closer than a regular alliance allows for?”

 

Peter smiled. “That’s the hope yes. It’s not often that we create these informal alliances, but not only do you recognize Malia as your own pack, but we’ll be keeping one of yours safe, and we’ll finally have someone in Beacon Hills to keep watch over things while we’re not there. It would be silly to think of this as a formal alliance.”

 

Scott thought for a moment. “Why… why did none of you ever come back?”

 

Peter shrugged. “The nemeton. It hurt every magical creature in that county when it was cut down. Some are more adaptable, like Stiles’s parents, but some of us felt it in our very bones. It brought a plague upon that town, and many of the humans might not register it, but when the Hale pack finally left, they just didn’t want to go back. It might grow back one day, but until it does, that is no place for us to live. We could survive there, maybe, but we could never thrive there.”

 

Scott looked genuinely sad at that. “Who even cut it down to begin with?”

 

“Hunters. Nematons generally act as protection from hunters, it turns things in the favor of magical creature. Only the creatures who genuinely wish harm tend to be hurt when one thrives. But you get rid of that, and the hunters can wreck entire populations. Other towns with thriving nematons tend to be peaceful. You only hear of hunters coming through to hunt those who do harm.”

 

Scott slumped back in the chair, looking so upset. “It was the Argents again, wasn’t it?”

 

Peter nodded, looking a little bitter. They were all a little bitter sometimes. “Yes. I know Chris and his daughter have been good ever since they left the rest of the family, but the hunters they come from have their lives soaked in blood, and that’s the way they want it. It’s safer for us here.”

 

Scott sat up with a determined look on his face, nodding to himself. “Alright. What do I need to know about sharing custody of a beta?”

 

Peter outright grinned at him, looking way too amused with himself. “Well, the first thing you need to know, is how to pronounce Stiles’s birth name. The full thing.”

 

Scott’s face fell a little, and  _ now _ he finally looked worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gayerthancanon.tumblr.com
> 
> So, I actually meant to write all the way past this scene and to the next day even, but then it got to 7k and I was all, 'hmm, I want this posted today, I'll work on more when this is posted' and so it is, and so it was. Anyways, the next chapter might be quicker cause I already have a fairly solid idea of where more is going, but again, never ask me when updates are coming, I don't like that.
> 
> Anyways, this is still gonna be ageplay, don't worry, but it's also got added plot now.

**Author's Note:**

> gayerthancanon.tumblr.com


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